SINGAPORE: A bus driver failed to check that the last passenger had alighted safely at the Woodlands Checkpoint and drove off, causing the passenger to fall and be run over by the bus.
Gunaselan R Subramaniam, a 45-year-old Malaysian, was convicted on Friday (Mar 8) of causing grievous hurt by a negligent act, after defending the charge at trial.
The court heard that Gunaselan was a bus driver employed by Singapore-Johor Express, a company providing transport between Singapore and Malaysia.
On the morning of Jun 24, 2019, he drove a bus with several passengers on board, including the victim, 74-year-old Tuminah Sapie.
At about 10.45am, he stopped at the departure concourse of Woodlands Checkpoint for passengers to alight.
Shortly after Gunaselan drove off, Madam Tuminah was found lying bloodied on the ground, after the rear tyre of the bus ran over both her legs.
At trial, Gunaselan argued that he had not acted negligently and could not have endangered Mdm Tuminah’s safety.
Mdm Tuminah testified that she was standing on the steps near the rear exit of the bus when she felt it move off.
She said she could not control her body when the bus moved suddenly and she fell out of the bus. While she was on the ground, she felt her legs being run over by the bus tyre.
Gunaselan admitted that he felt his bus “going up a hump” after he closed the doors and drove for a short distance.
The prosecution tendered photos showing Mdm Tuminah’s fall from the bus.
Mdm Tuminah was taken to hospital with multiple fractures in her lower limbs, including to her feet, legs, toe and pubic bone areas. Her right lower leg was described in court papers as having a “mangled extremity”.
The prosecution’s case was that Gunaselan was negligent as he did not check his viewing screen and left mirror before driving off.
USING HIS PHONE?
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ariel Tan alleged that the driver had been using his phone, but Gunaselan, who was represented by Mr A Revi Shanker, contested this.
Another passenger testified that she heard Gunaselan talking on the phone while she was alighting from the bus. She maintained that he continued to talk on the phone after stopping his bus for passengers to alight.
Mdm Tuminah corroborated this, saying she heard Gunaselan’s voice while she was alighting.
Gunaselan said he did not use his phone while driving, but the prosecution called this a “bare assertion”.
Under cross-examination, Gunaselan said an alighting passenger would “definitely fall off” if they did not hold onto the handlebar while he drove off.
However, he argued that a passenger who held onto the handlebar would not fall off.
He also claimed that an AETOS officer had checked his bus and exited through the rear door shortly before Gunaselan checked his viewing screen and mirrors before driving off.
Therefore, Mdm Tuminah could not have been on the bus when he drove off, he claimed.
When the prosecutor asked if the elderly victim must have “run back to lie under your bus”, Gunaselan said: “Who will come and do that, and fall under the … bus?”
He will return to court for mitigation and sentencing on Mar 15.
In the meantime, he is allowed to leave Singapore from Mar 8 to Mar 14 as he has been retained as a driver with Singapore-Johor Express and is now a permanent employee.
He travels every day between Johor Bahru and Singapore and needs to work as the sole breadwinner to support his family of five.
For causing grievous hurt by a negligent act endangering personal safety, he faces up to two years’ jail, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both. He may also be banned from driving.